Former Newcastle United captain Kevin Nolan has said that CEO David Hopkinson has put manager Matthias Jaissle "under a little bit of added pressure" by describing the club's summer reset as "Newcastle 2.0".
Nolan, working as a pundit on Premier Sports TV's coverage of Newcastle's 3-1 pre-season friendly defeat to Everton at Murrayfield Stadium, also expressed concern that the club's five summer signings may struggle in the Premier League because they are "untested" in the top flight.
Jaissle's response to the 'Newcastle 2.0' label
Before the match, Jaissle was asked about the phrase, which Hopkinson used in an interview with the Athletic last week to outline his vision for a renewed Newcastle following the departures of Eddie Howe and key players such as Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon and Kieran Trippier.
Jaissle replied: "I think David was describing it quite good but for us, and for the players, it is just about being ambitious and having a clear goal that we want to develop, and to use this transition period now as a chance. It is a big challenge but we can also see it as a positive and that is our approach."
Nolan's verdict on the pressure
While Nolan felt Jaissle handled the question well, he claimed he would be embarrassed answering it if he were in the German's position.
"I think he looked quite embarrassed at the question and I think I would be if I was the manager," Nolan told Premier Sports TV. "For David Hopkinson to put him in that position to go this is 'Newcastle 2.0' after what Eddie has done, the last manager doing what he has done to get success for the first time in a long time at Newcastle, it puts him under a little bit of added pressure."
He added: "I think he handled it well, he wants to play with two teams so he wants high intensity all throughout both halves."
Challenge for the new signings
Nolan also highlighted the challenge facing the new players, saying they must show the same fight as their predecessors.
"It is still very raw and they have all got a loyalty towards Eddie and those players that have left. I think what's happened is those players have moved on now, they have quickly got to go and what these Newcastle fans do is they get behind the team," he said.
"So these lads have got to show they are willing to fight and scrap and do everything that the previous team have done, or 1.0 have done, now 2.0 have got to do that as a minimum and show a little bit more."
"It is going to be interesting because there are a lot of tried and untested. This is the thing with this Newcastle team now, there is a lot of people they have bought who are untested in the Premier League."
